Ethnic stores, barbershops, restaurants and vacant storefronts. These are the prominent features of North Salina Street.

Though the area has recently become very ethnically and culturally diverse, an estimated 25 percent of the neighborhood is made up of vacant buildings.

Formerly a German — then Italian — neighborhood, the street is a landing place for refugees and immigrants. Their businesses form an emerging multicultural community that local collaborative Northside Urban Partnership has been working to market to potential consumers and residents.

The collaborative started several initiatives in the area, targeting workforce development, renovating the neighborhood’s physical spaces and staging cultural events to attract visitors and bring exposure to the Northside’s businesses.

“We have all these mixed-use buildings with residences on top and retail on the bottom, which are huge opportunities,” said Sarah Pallo, a Northside Business Partnership coordinator. “We really try to play up the existing businesses here to people who don’t learn about Northside.”

To help people learn about the area, Northside UP is holding an event called “Shop the Northside,” which started on Nov. 19 and runs to Jan. 2, according to its website. As part of this holiday shopping event, customers can attend food tastings and sample local goods.

The Northside includes many businesses from longtime stores such as Lombardi Fruit & Imports Co. and Columbus Bakery Co., remnants of the neighborhood’s Italian heritage, to newer stores, such as the African & Caribbean Central Market and African food store Barwago Market.

What the businesses have in common are small street customer bases and niche markets targeting specific demographics.

Military veteran Lynn Swetland, who owns the flag shop Bainbridge H.C., said he sees an average of five customers per day during the winter and 20 in the summer. But he said his company, which he runs with his wife, handles a steady stream of commercial business through flag and flagpole repairs.

Located on North Salina for 25 years, Swetland said the surrounding neighborhoods were highly segregated before World War II, forming quadrants of distinct ethnic communities.

Jonathan Longo, another Northside Business Partnership coordinator, said the shift in the Northside’s population is “hard to pinpoint.” He said ethnic stores began appearing “sporadically,” bringing with them immigrants who dreamed of opening businesses but lacked the training or language skills to do so.

Northside UP, Longo said, provides resources for such challenges.

Though the collaborative is not necessarily a business developer, it helps manage the Northside’s growth, Longo said, working with local business owners and potential business residents to preserve the neighborhood’s character.

This requires careful strategizing, such as when Dunkin’ Donuts expressed interest in having a location on North Salina. The original plans, Longo said, were “inappropriate” for the area and were modified to incorporate the chain seamlessly into the existing neighborhood.

The Northside UP has been active in the area for about five years, he said. Originally, there were several different organizations in the area, but they combined a year ago, Longo said.

Before the formation of Northside UP, social services providers were sparse, he said. The Franciscan Church of the Assumption was among the few that provided comparable services before the collaborative formed, Longo said.

The area faces concerns about its rental market, especially maintenance and management problems, a lingering reputation for crime and persistent store vacancies, Longo said.

Yet Longo and Pallo, the Northside Business Partnership coordinator, said they are optimistic.

“North Salina is on the cuff of some really great changes, close to a lot of things that could make it a vibrant commercial district,” Pallo said.

But for Briana Kohlbrenner, owner of art consignment shop Craft Chemistry, the art market is not addressed in North Salina Street.

Another problem, she said, is the nature of traffic in the area. Most shoppers don’t take leisurely walks down the street, instead parking and limiting their time to a single business, she said.

Her business, which sells handmade items from local artists, is at odds with the income of the neighborhood’s residents. Her target group, she said, is not located on North Salina.

“I’m barely breaking even,” said Kohlbrenner, who has been in the location for three years. She said her landlord has given her a “huge” discount “just to see art in the area.”

Gesturing at the store, she asked: “But at what expense?”

Published on December 5, 2012 at 1:55 am

Contact Natsumi: najisaka@syr.edu